Period 20: Best Friend
'Best Friend '''is the 20th chapter of the Zekkyou Gakkyuu series and 4th chapter in the volume 5 manga. Premise ''A lonely girl struggles to make friends. But one day she begins to get mysterious letters that make her feel better- but as she starts improving the letters become disturbing. Yomi's Introduction Yomi is dressed in a school uniform on her way to class, walking with the other students while saying its the new school term and it's time to change classes. She curiously asks the readers if they had made friends yet. Summary Miho observes two schoolmates while preparing to leave school. She is approached by a teacher who mentions she hasn't turned in a co-curricular form yet and she mentions that there are a lot of friends in them, so she is sure she can find one. While walking home Miho thinks about how she used to have a lot of friends during grade school. But in middle school she had been too shy say anything, so she is usually on her own and now it's too late to try since most of the class has formed their own friend groups. She observes girls from her class up ahead as they chat about the school uniform and various other things, but she decides not to join in out of concern they would find her annoying. She is further surprised as she hears the girls address each other by their first names while walking in another direction from them, and upon approaching a small statue she begins to make conversation with it, explaining how it's the only thing she can talk to lately. She sadly stares at it while a few uneasy male students walk by to observe her. She wishes she could have a friend; even if it was just one. The next day Miho worriedly thinks about the curricular activities and would rather avoid school than deal with them. Confused, she sees two girls approach her to mention that a friend has shown up for her near the school entrance. She sets down her things and goes to look, but all she finds at the exit is a piece of paper that asks "Miho-chan, are you doing well?". Not seeing anybody she wonders if may be a prank. At the end of school another girl tells her that someone was looking for her, but it ends with the same results and she finds nothing more than a paper slip at her cubby hole saying "I want to see Miho-chan". But when she asks for information about who it was, the girl wasn't able to provide a clear answer since she didn't know herself. While at home, Miho thinks about this "person" further. At the idea that it could be a girl from another school she starts to wonder if it could be her childhood friend, Aika, who is attending a private school now so they don't see each other much. She gets up and runs downstairs, where she finds her mom making dinner, and asks if Aika might have called or anything. Her mother says she hasn't, but she recalls running into Aika's mother recently. She was telling her that Aika has been struggling to adjust to her new school, words that relieve Miho as it helps support her theory. While making her way to school she wonders why Aika would send letters rather than meet in person. Seeing the statue, she stops to inform of it of her newfound happiness. From that day on, the letters began to show up after school near the entrance. She finds one waiting for her and happily picks it up to read, deciding to write down a response after the person writes "As usual I'm really lonely, what about Miho-chan?". She wishes they could talk in person, but she's happy at least having this option and she's been feeling better. Until two boys walk by to find her doing it and one of them snatches the letter to see what she said, reading over it before remarking that she couldn't possibly have a pen pal. She claims they are wrong, but the boy tells her that he's never seen anyone collecting or leaving behind notes, causing his friend to start laughing as she starts crying. Suddenly a classmate comes to her defense and smacks the boy with a rolled up booklet, causing him to drop the note. She tells him off before explaining to Miho that she's getting made fun of due to how happy she looks when she responds to the notes. She suggests Miho tries to speak in person with this writer, then quickly apologizes for being nosy. Shyly, Miho approaches the girl, Okada, and thanks her. Okada goes on to invite Miho to walk to their next class together and she agrees. On the way to class they are joined by two other girls who discuss knowing people who went to her old elementary school. One of the girls remarks that she thought Miho liked to be alone, but she responds to them so naturally that she's happy knowing that isn't the case while Miho tries to explain that she has a tendency to space out at times. She continues on, soon getting flustered but the girls appear to like her regardless, saying she's cute and finding her amusing. Soon, she is able to join a club, and now that she's made some friends she realizes how much better things would have been if she just had the courage to be upfront when they first met. She hasn't replied to the recent letter either, but with her Club to get to she doesn't bother, deciding she can do it later. As she makes her way home Miho talks to her new friends about the letters. She has told them about it being Aika, but now they don't do it anymore. While she would still like to see Aika, she realizes she is feeling better now and will be okay, walking by the small statue again. She's been having so much fun that she completely forgot about her as of late. She unpacks her items as her mother comes by to collect her P.E. clothing, as she plans on doing laundry. She recalls speaking to Aika's mother again and brings up how Aika is doing much better, and she's made new friends as well. Confused, Miho notes that she still gets the letters and she is shocked to find one has been slipped into her bag. She opens it to see "Tomorrow, I will be coming to see Miho-chan". Due to her overflowing curiosity she hadn't been able to sleep that night. She made her way to her school room to find nobody inside, then recalls how first period was an optional class as she observes the board. To her horror, she finds Miho-chan written in black ink covering her entire desk, but she initially assumes it's only a joke until she looks closer to recognize it matches the letters. Suddenly, Miho hears sound outside of the room, as if someone is approaching and she curiously steps towards the door to get a closer look. But she doesn't find anyone and turns back into the room, to see the statue, suddenly bigger, right next to her calling her name. Before she can react, she is thrown into the nearby desks, and she realizes this is the same statue she walks by every day and used to speak to. She remembers a few days ago when the girl mentioned being unable to identify this person before observing her desk again, wondering if it's possible this rock statue was doing this. As the statue gets closer, Miho panics and throws a book at it- which bounces right as she tries to run away. The rock statue launches itself at her back and pushes her over, causing her to desperately cries for help as it grows heavier and continues smashing into her back, causing her pain and spraying blood in the room while repeatedly calling her name. After breaking her back, it stops as she loses consciousness. After school, Miho's friends are making their way home when they decide to pay her home a visit. She didn't show up for school so they assume she must be sick. As they walk by the statue they notice something different about it, and they see it how has a friend attached to it; causing them joy upon realizing it isn't lonely anymore. They continue walking by, unaware of the bloody tears seeping from the new statues eye. Yomi's Epilogue Looking up from her book, Yomi mentions how Miho and the statue will be bonded forever now. It was lonely and had found a friend in her, and she observes a group of girls nearby before telling everyone to work hard in this new term to make friends. Characters *Miho Yokoyama *Aika *Miss Yokoyama *Rock Statue *Classmates *Okada Quotes Trivia Gallery Category:Vol 5 Category:Chapters Category:Manga